


Salt To Taste

by Ceares



Series: Three On A Couch [1]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Character of Color, Episode Related, F/M, M/M, Multi, Polyamory
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-31
Updated: 2012-12-31
Packaged: 2017-11-23 02:46:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/617241
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ceares/pseuds/Ceares
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The one where Parker hates Eliot's new girlfriend.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Salt To Taste

**Author's Note:**

> Spoilers for all seasons. The whole series was written before the finale and therefore parts are completely jossed.

“We should go on a group date! Yes!” Sophie clapped her hands and bounced excitedly on her toes, ignoring the frantic nonono! head shaking and arm sweeps coming from both Eliot and Hardison.

Nate just sighed and slumped back against the sofa cushions, resignation oozing out of him. It was sad to see him so whipped. Hardison was glad him and Parker weren’t like that. 

“Yeah, I really don’t think that’s a good...”

Parker’s head snapped around and she glared at both him and Eliot, before crossing her arms, bottom lip slipping out into a pout she’d deny till her dying day.

“Um, maybe just a latte or something?” Hardison flinched, jerking away but was proud he managed to stifle a whimper as Eliot punched him in the arm.

“Damn it! Hardison.”

Everybody knew, well everybody except Sophie obviously and apparently, Parker herself, that for some reason Parker had a serious hate-on for Tabatha, Eliot’s latest. Thing was, they couldn’t figure why other than Parker’s normal weirdness. Tabatha was cool -- a fox like all of Eliot’s ladies, and fun like only some of Eliot’s ladies -- sometimes, dude got in a mood and went for morose.

**********

Parker’s rictus grin was painful to look at. His girl hadn’t been that stiff around people in years. When Tabatha got up to go to the bathroom, he leaned in. “You good?’

“Of course I’m good, why wouldn’t I be good? Don’t I seem good?”

He eased her fingers open, freeing the wine glass that had started creaking ominously under her tight grip. “You seem...”

“Weird. Parker, you’re being weird.” Eliot leaned over the table. “Stop it.”

“Parker, is there some reason you don’t like Tabatha?” Nate had the same tone he used when he was quizzing a client--both comforting and vaguely scary. Alec practiced that tone in the mirror for the day he was running his own crew.

“Tabatha’s a perfectly lovely young woman. There’s no reason at all for Parker to dislike her, is there?” At Sophie’s raised brow, Parker lowered her head until her hair covered her face and fiddled with her drink again.

“No. She’s...sweet, like um...chocolate covered cherries.”

Sophie threw up her hands glaring them all into silence. “There, see. Fine.”

Alec sighed. “Parker hates chocolate covered cherries.”

“No I don’t! They’re just really, really sweet. And like you think chocolate and cherries, what could go wrong? But then you bite down and then...” she made a gagging noise “but by that time your mouth is already full and even when you swallow them, it just sort of still coats the back of your tongue until you go brush.”

The table was silent, staring at her in dismay and Alec swallowed a laugh. He really did love his girl.

And then Tabatha was back, curled around Eliot, with a well, sweet, smile for everyone else and seemingly oblivious to the tension at the table.

 

Parker lay curled up against his chest, fingers tangled with his. “He could get married.”

“He’s not gonna get married, Parker.”

“But he could. He could leave us.”

Alec pulled her closer, leaning his head against hers and closing his eyes. “We won’t lose him.”  


He’d just have to figure out a way to make sure that was true. He was almost asleep when Parker shifted against him, sitting up, flicking on the light and looking at him with the same manic gleam she got right before she went off a building.

“I have an idea.”

**********

 

A few weeks later, Eliot showed up for movie night again. He’d been missing them since he started dating Tabatha, since Wednesdays were her day off. That was something else that had Parker worried. Alec knew better though. He wouldn’t start worrying unless Eliot asked if he could bring her along -- movie night wasn’t for outsiders. 

“Hey.”

“What are we watching?”

Alec grinned. “Double feature. Alien and the Thing.”

He tried to be subtle about it but, well he didn’t really do subtle. He did manage to wait until they were doing an intermission between the movies. “Sooo, you and Tabatha?”

Eliot shrugged, giving them his usual half glare. “Guess I just don’t have that much of a sweet tooth.”

Alec pinched Parker just hard enough that she swallowed the grin forming and made a sad-face so fake even a citizen could read it.

“Too bad, dude.” He hunched Parker again.

“Oh, yeah. Sorry.”

Eliot shrugged. “Nah, it’s okay. Different roads, you know?”

“Yeah.”

They were all silent for a moment. Parker tapped her fingernails against the table and glared at him. Alec glared right back. This was her crazy idea and Eliot was probably going to kill them and hide the bodies. She kicked at him under the table, sharp toe of her boot digging into his shin until he winced and slid his chair away from hers, loudly. Eliot had his ‘y’all are hella crazy’ frown on as he looked between the two of them.

“Um, so we think you should, find somebody on the same road.” He paused but was still getting the ‘what the hell?’ look from Eliot. Alec sighed. “Damn man!” He reached behind him and grabbed the bowl of pretzels off the counter and slid it across the table in front of Eliot.

Parker grinned at him.


End file.
